mason



H (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 1.

J. MASON. Furnace for Burning Pyrites N. 24|,6s5. Patented lvlay17,|ssl.

(No Model.) a 8111111111--8118912.l

J. MASON. 1 Furnace for Burning Pyrites.

No. 241,685. 1 Pantfed May17,.1881.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMEs MAsON, OE EYNsHAM HALL, WITNEY, COUNTYOE OXFORD, ENGLAND.

FU-RNACE FOR BURNING PYRITES.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 241,685, dated May 17,1881.

Application led December 7, 1880. (No model.) Patented in Great Bn'tainAugust 4, 1880.

Y To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES MASON, a sub: ject of the'Queen of GreatBritain, and residing at Eynshain Hall, Witney, county of OX- ford,England, have in vented certain Improve` mentsin Furnaces forBurningPyrites, (for which I have obtained a patent in' GreatBrit. ain,No. 3,196, dated 4th August, 1880,) of which the following isaspecification.,

My invention,which relates to improvenien ts in furnaces for burningpyrites, has for its object efecting the burning of pyrites orefor theproduction of sulphurous acid, with the view to its conversionprincipally into sulphuric acid and the manipulation of the said oredur-` ing the process of burning without the aid of manual labor.

Thefurnace employed for carrying out these operations is constructedwith a long, narrow, inclined chamber of nre-brick or other suitablematerial, and` is preferably of rectangular sectionat thesides and thefloor, and is closed at its top witha straight or arched roof. Withinthe said chamber are arranged a series ofiluted cylinders,- all oflsiniilar size and form, with their'axes parallel toteach other, andwith a suitable space intervening between each two consecutivecylinders. The row` or series of cylinders is inclined in accordancewith the inclination ofthe chamber, the amount of inclina-V tiondepending upon the description of orc to be operated'` upon. rIhecylinders are, by pref erence, made eitherof cast-iron or of lire-clay,but may be of any other material which suffers littleorno deteriorationfrom moderateV friction at a red heat while in contact with the gasessetfree during the process. The shafts of theiiuted` cylinders, made ,ofWrought-iron or other suitable in aterial, pro j ect through both sidesof the chamber and are carried in suitable bearings` outside of 'thesame, the whole of the bearings being secured to strong iron plates orgirders bolted to the sides of the fur nace and rigidly held inposition. One end of cach shaft is furnished `with a .toothed Wheel,andinto' each'of these wheels is geared the threadof a worm. i All theworms are fixed upon a revolving'shaftfcarried in bearingsregulating-slide and rotated mechanically by means of gearing from themain driving-shaft, delivers the ore onto the cylinders in the desiredand regular quantity. l

- The upper surface of the cylinders is caused to move during rotationfrom the first towardl the sccond,lfrom the second toward the third, land so on, and the ore delivered upon the first v by the hopper is thuscarried toward the second and deposited in a heap iii front of thelatter, whichpicks it up and carries it forward toward the third, and soon `through the whole series until the last cylinder, which drops theore into the nal depository. Thus the upper surface of the cylindersforms an artificial bed and laboratory of thefurnace, upon which theusual calcining action is carried out at the same time that the materialis gradually and regularly fedinto, tlirough,and outof the furnaceWithout the aid of manual labor.

In order that my said invention may be fully understood, I shall `nowproceed `more particuv larly to describe the saine, and for that purposeshall refer to. the several figures on the annexed sheet of drawings,the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all thegures. A l

Figure 1 of the accoxnp'an yingdrawin gs rep resents aside elevation ofa furnace constructed according to my said invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section of the same. Fig. Bis a transverse sectionalelevation taken along the line l 2, Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a transversesectional elevation taken `alongthe line 3 4l, Fig. 2.`

lVitliin the inclined calciningchainber A is arranged the inclined rowof iiuted cylinders B, keyed `upon the shafts b, which are carried inbea-rings b outside theheating-chainher, the said bearings beingsupported on the longi-` tudinal plates or girders C. Motion is impartedto the said cylinder. from the main shaftD by IOO the worms d, gearingwith the wheels b2,.keyed upon the cylinder-shafts b. The ina-in shaft Dis supported upon the brackets d', and has moe einem tion imparted to itfrom the engine or prime mover through the intervention of the wormwheeld2, gearing with the worm d3 upon the counter-shaft d4.

The hopper E, through which the ore is delivered into thecalcining-chamber, is itted with a slide or valve, e, and feeding-rollere', the former being opera-ted by a screw and hand wheel,.1, as shownclearly in the dra-wings, while the roller e is operated from the mainshaft D by means of the vertical shaft e2, to which motion is impartedby the vbevelwheels c3, the top of the said shaft having keyed upon it aworm, e4, gearing with a wormwheel, e5, which communicates motion to thefeeding-roller by means ofthe gearing d6 upon the short shaft di, asshown in Figs. l and 3. The calcining-chamber, as shown in theaccompanyin g drawings, is formed with anv arched roof made up ofsections a, to which liftinghandles a are attached, in order that theroof may be removed with facility when an inspection of the interior ofthe calcining-chamber is rendered necessary.

At one end of the chamber, underneath the hopper, is the re-grate F,which is provided with an uptake, G, and damper g, and at the same endis also situate the down-flue H, leading into the main ilue to theacid-chamber, and iitted with the damber h. At the other end of thefurnace is the receptacle I for the burned ore, with an outlet, i,provided with a slidingv door, i. From this receptacle also extends adown-due, J, having a damper, j, the said ilne leading to the chimney.Two air-inlets, K, are arranged one on each side of the receptacle I,and are provided with slides or valves for adjusting the quantity oi'air to be admitted.

The furnace is operated in the following manner, videlicet: Motion isirst imparted to the main shaft D from the engine or prime mover throughthe gearing hereinbefore described, whereby motion is communicated tothe tinted cylinders within the calciningchamber and to the feed-rollerin the hopper. The air-inlets K in the receptacle I, and the damper hinthe flue H, are closed, while the damper g in the receptacle G, and thedamper j in the downilue J ,are opened.y The fire is then lighted in thegrate, and allowed to heat the calciningchamber and the cylinders to ared heat. Ore is then admitted into the hopper, the fire withdrawn, thefire-door and ash-pit-closed, also the damper 7' in the down-flue J, andthe damper g in the uptake G, while the damper his opened, as well asthe air-valves K. As the ore descends through the hopper onto the foreplate or valve it ignites and passes onto the cylinders, whence it isgradually carried forward over the whole length of the bed, ashereinbefore described. The process of burning the ore is thus carriedout in a thoroughly regular manner without further manual labor andwithout any additional fuel. As the burned ore a1'- rives at the far endof the chamber it falls into the receptacle I, and is drawn off throughthe slidingdoor i', which is regulated so as to keepalwaysa certaindepth of ore over the opening, to prevent the ingress of air at thatpoint. Any of the ilnted rollers may, if necessary, be removed forrepairs, either through openings in the sides of the chamber or bylifting them bodily out with their axles after the removal of one of theroof-sections. The quantity of pyrites passed through the furnace in agiven time will depend on the speed given to the cylinders, theirlength, the size or depth of theflutes, and on the inclinationof theplane through the axes of the cylinders.

When burning small pyrites with cylinders of, say from twelve inchesdiameter upward, about six to eight revolutions perl hour will probablyprove a good working-speed; but for large-sized ore and with cylinderslof great di-- ameter and with deep flutes, a less speed may beadvisable. i' I The gearing driving the main shaft, as also that whichrotates the vfeed-roller, may be arranged to admit of different speeds,in order to suit variations in the Working.

There is no particular limit to the sizeof the ore used in the processhereinbefore described, so long as the said ore can be fed mechanical-1ythrough the hopper; but small ore, and, by preference, all below, saythree -fourthsinch cube, will probably produce the best rev sults5but Ido vnot-confine myself to this limit. I prefer using the ore in separatesizesthat is, each size in a separate furnace-although this is notabsolutely necessary. Thus, dust or very small ore may be one class ofgrains, from the size of a pea to 'one-fourth-inch cube a second class,and from that to a three-fourths- .inch cube a third class, and so on toa larger size, and with even more subdivisions.

The length and diameter of the fluted cylinders will necessarily bevaried, according to the dimensions of the furnace.

Having now fully described the said invention and the mannerof carryingthe 'same into effect, I would observe,i.n conclusion, that I do notclaim herein, perse, a furnace having a calcining-chamber with a bedvformed of roll- IOQ ers for transporting the material -to be operatedupon through saidchamber; but

What I do claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is A' f l. Thecombination, with a vcalcini-ng-chamber, a series of inted rollers inlsaid chamber,

and mechanism for rotating said rollers, of a nre-chamber, finescontrolled by dampers connecting the nre-chamber with thecalciningchamber, a ilue leading to a chimney for carrying off theproducts of combustion', air-inlets for admitting air directly into thecalciningchamber, and fines independent of aforesaid chimney-line forcarrying offl the products of calcination, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a calcining-chamber, a series of flnted rollerstherein, an exterior shaft and gearing for imparting motion from saidshaft to said rollers, of a feed-hopper extending the width of saidchamber, a feed-roller revolving in the throat of said hopper andconnected by gearing with the aforesaid shaft, and a regulatin g-gate,substantially 5 as described, so that the ore is delivered into ro ber7a series of luted rollers therein, and mechanism for rotating the saidrollers, of a feedhopper, a reeha1nberwith flues and dampers, andoutlet-dues for carrying 0E the fumes and gases from the roasting ore atone end of I5 said oaleiniug-oharnber, andY a lue leading to a chimneyfor oarryingof' the products of combustion from the fire-chamber,air-inlets 'for admitting air to the roasting ore, and an outlet for theore at the other end of the calciuing-ehamber, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

. JAMES MASON. Witnesses: WALTER H. HUNT, 29 Wellington SQua-rQHOjbrd,articled Clerk to a Solicitor. l

HARRY RLUoAs, 117 High Street, Oxford, Sol'ictors Clerk.

